Sand vs. Gravel

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I'm trying to decide whether to try sand in my next tank (33gal). I have basic gravel in my other two tanks (20gal and 10gal) and while it does it's job, it's boring. And fake looking. If I went gravel again, I would go more natural looking, almost like pebbles. But it made me start thinking about sand, too. My LFS doesn't sell aquarium sand, just boring epoxy gravel, so I would have to find it online (BigAls-Canadian would have it).
But I would like people's opinions on both, and suggestions of different types of substrates to use. I don't think it'll be a planted tank, at least not at first.
Thanks. :)
 
First off, you don't need 'Aquarium Sand'. Head down to Home Depot and pick up a 55 lb bag of Play Sand, it'll cost you about $4 whereas the LFS will charge you $30 for, at best, 20lbs. You'll have to check out exactly what kind of sand it is and be aware of what it might do to your water chemistry. Silica Play Sand should be inert (AFAIK) and not effect your tank. Argonite Play Sand however may raise your hardness (IIRC). Agronite is what you want in a salt water tank, but may not be best for fresh.

I used play sand (silica based) in my 55 and it looks very good, MUCH better then aquarium gravel. People will tell you it's harder to clean but I disagree. Unlike gravel the fish poo and other gunk doesn't sift down into the substrata as fast and is easier to vaccume off.

Throw some river rock and bog wood in and you've got a pretty realistic looking setup :D

If you do plan on keeping plants sand might not be the best however, at least not without some other base substrata under it that will carry nutriants better for the plants. But I know nothing about planted tanks so I won't shoot my mouth off any more then that ;)
 
I agree 100% with theFinn. When sand is dirty, it looks dirty, but is soo much easier to clean. If you want live plans then you need about 3", but gasses can develop in the sand, so it needs to be stired up about once a month. Lucky for me, my Cichlids gladly volunteer to that work for me. If you dont have plants, then a thin layer of sand should work, and you dont have to worry too much about gasses. I think sand looks better, and I believe my fish like it more too.
 
Thanks to both of you for your information. I'm going to head down to the hardware store and see what brand of play sand they carry. I've bought it before for my son's sandbox, but never checked out what it's 'base' was.

If I go with sand, do I just rinse it well in a bucket until it's clear? I've heard of cloudiness problems that never go away with people who don't wash it properly first. Also, if I go non-planted at first (with less sand depth) and decide to add plants later, can I just add more sand to make it deeper then?
Thanks again for your help! :)
 
The sand I used was medium grade, prewashed. I took almost no washing to get it clean, but I reccomend you clean it anyway, since you dont want cloudy water for a few days, with fish in it. If you decide to add plans later there is nothing wrong with adding 2 more inches of sand or so, just add it slowly, so you dont cloud up the water. Also when changing to sand, or stiring sand up, turn off your filter so sand dosent get into it and break it.
 
tel0004 said:
The sand I used was medium grade, prewashed. I took almost no washing to get it clean
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And I had the exact opposite experiance. I washed the heck outta my sand in a big rubbermade tub and my tank was still cloudy for 2 days after putting the sand in. :rolleyes:

Wash it out as best you can but you can expect it to be a bit couldy. Personally I like the way light filters down though couldy water ;)

Also, if I go non-planted at first (with less sand depth) and decide to add plants later, can I just add more sand to make it deeper then?
Click to expand...

Yes, but adding/changing substrate in an established tank can be a pain in the butt. I'd suggest you add the depth you might need now just in case. The deeper sand will help hold down decorations too (fake plants and whatnot).
 
I went to Lowes and picked up some play sand this morning for three bucks, rinsed it three times, then put in about six giant handfuls after removing decor and some gravel.
It took about two hours, plus a bit of aqua clear, but now things in the 20 are great, and my corys are having a blast! It was funny to watch the little loach emerge from the hollow rock/'cave' and roll on his sides in the sand at first. Now the smaller clown in swimming up and down the sides of the tank and the corys are enjoying some cucumber.
I really like the look, once my 29 gallon in finished cycling completely (its been up since late august, so maybe next week? )I want to add a layer of sand to that tank as well. Its not to much of a pain and the results are really pleasing!
 
i'm with you all on the sand thing - i've just set my tank up with sand, looks fantastic. the cloudiness lasted for all of about a day, and is crystal clear now. i just can't wait to get some fish in there to see if they agree with me!



just out of interest, what's the best way to clean sand? i know you can get vacuum thingies for gravel, do they work ok on sand as well?
 
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